Volleyball and Pharmaceuticals
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre is in the spotlight but for all the wrong reasons. Favre finds himself caught red-handed for playing a part in diverting federal welfare funds from Mississippi’s poorest population to his pockets. Mississippi is the poorest state in the country, with almost 200,000 children living below the poverty line. The money Favre used from the welfare funds were to fund a new volleyball facility at The University of Southern Mississippi where his daughter played volleyball. Also, according to NPR,”Favre at one time was the largest individual outside investor and stockholder of Prevacus, a Florida-based company that was trying to develop a concussion drug. The suit said that in December 2018, Favre urged Prevacus CEO Jake VanLandingham to ask Nancy New to use welfare grant money to invest in the company.”
There Was a Rat
The lawsuit was filed about two weeks after Nancy New and Zachary New, who ran a nonprofit group in Mississippi pleaded guilty to state criminal charges tied to the misuse of welfare funds. They agreed to testify against others in what state Auditor Shad White has called Mississippi’s largest public corruption case in the past two decades. The state auditor uncovered $77 million in misspent welfare funds in February 2020. The welfare funds in question are part of the $86 million Mississippi is given each year by the federal government to help families in poverty.
Read the Texts
White said Favre was paid for speeches but did not show up. Favre has repaid the money, but White said in October that Favre still owed $228,000 in interest. Favre has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the matter, but recent text messages would say otherwise. Mississippi Today released the texts that incriminate Favre: “Nancy Santa came today and dropped some money off,” Favre texted New that day, “thank you my goodness thank you. We need to setup the promo for you soon. Your way to kind.”Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Gov. Tate Reeves said in a joint statement Monday: “Our purpose with this suit is to seek justice for the broken trust of the people of Mississippi and recover funds that were misspent.”
Fallen Off the Pedestal
Favre says he didn’t know much about where the money was from, but the texts show a different side of the story. The old gun slinger is a swindler! The media seems to be giving him a pass for now but the future will show that he let greed and power knock him from his pedestal of being an American football icon. We will just have to wait and see what happens in the lawsuit and hopefully the funds will go to the people of Mississippi who need it most. Not volleyball facilities and pharmacy companies.